1:1 The Song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
- Beloved
1:2 Let him kiss me with
the kisses of his mouth;
- for your love is better than wine.
1:3 Your oils have a
pleasing fragrance.
- Your name is oil poured forth,
- therefore the virgins love you.
1:4 Take me away with you.
- Let us hurry.
- The king has brought me into his rooms.
- Friends
- We will be glad and rejoice in you.
- We will praise your love more than wine!
- Beloved
- They are right to love you.
1:5 I am dark, but lovely,
- you daughters of Jerusalem,
- like Kedar’s tents,
- like Solomon’s curtains.
1:6 Don’t stare at me because I am dark,
- because the sun has scorched me.
- My mother’s sons were angry with me.
- They made me keeper of the vineyards.
- I haven’t kept my own vineyard.
1:7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
- where you graze your flock,
- where you rest them at noon;
- For why should I be as one who is veiled
- beside the flocks of your companions?
- Lover
1:8 If you don’t know, most beautiful among women,
- follow the tracks of the sheep.
- Graze your young goats beside the shepherds’ tents.
1:9 I have compared you, my love,
- to a steed in Pharaoh’s chariots.
1:10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
- your neck with strings of jewels.
1:11 We will make you earrings of gold,
- with studs of silver.
- Beloved
1:12 While the king sat at his table,
- my perfume spread its fragrance.
1:13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh,
- that lies between my breasts.
1:14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
- from the vineyards of En Gedi.
- Lover
1:15 Behold, you are beautiful, my love.
- Behold, you are beautiful.
- Your eyes are doves.
- Beloved
1:16 Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, yes, pleasant;
- and our couch is verdant.
- Lover
1:17 The beams of our house are cedars.
- Our rafters are firs.
- Beloved
2:1 I am a rose of Sharon,
- a lily of the valleys.
- Lover
2:2 As a lily among thorns,
- so is my love among the daughters.
- Beloved
2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,
- so is my beloved among the sons.
- I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
- his fruit was sweet to my taste.
2:4 He brought me to the banquet hall.
- His banner over me is love.
2:5 Strengthen me with raisins,
- refresh me with apples;
- For I am faint with love.
2:6 His left hand is under my head.
- His right hand embraces me.
2:7 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,
- by the roes, or by the hinds of the field,
- that you not stir up, nor awaken love,
- until it so desires.
2:8 The voice of my beloved!
- Behold, he comes,
- leaping on the mountains,
- skipping on the hills.
2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart.
- Behold, he stands behind our wall!
- He looks in at the windows.
- He glances through the lattice.
2:10 My beloved spoke, and said to me,
- “Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.
2:11 For, behold, the winter is past.
- The rain is over and gone.
2:12 The flowers appear on the earth.
- The time of the singing has come,
- and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
2:13 The fig tree ripens her green figs.
- The vines are in blossom.
- They give forth their fragrance.
- Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
- and come away.”
- Lover
2:14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,
- In the hiding places of the mountainside,
- Let me see your face.
- Let me hear your voice;
- for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
2:15 Catch for us the foxes,
- the little foxes that spoil the vineyards;
- for our vineyards are in blossom.
- Beloved
2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his.
- He browses among the lilies.
2:17 Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away,
- turn, my beloved,
- and be like a roe or a young hart on the mountains of Bether.
3:1 By night on my bed,
- I sought him whom my soul loves.
- I sought him, but I didn’t find him.
3:2 I will get up now, and go about the city;
- in the streets and in the squares I will seek him whom my soul loves.
- I sought him, but I didn’t find him.
3:3 The watchmen who go about the city found me;
- “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
3:4 I had scarcely passed from them,
- when I found him whom my soul loves.
- I held him, and would not let him go,
- until I had brought him into my mother’s house,
- into the room of her who conceived me.
3:5 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,
- by the roes, or by the hinds of the field,
- that you not stir up, nor awaken love,
- until it so desires.
3:6 Who is this who comes up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke,
- perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
- with all spices of the merchant?
3:7 Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage!
- Sixty mighty men are around it,
- of the mighty men of Israel.
3:8 They all handle the sword, and are expert in war.
- Every man has his sword on his thigh,
- because of fear in the night.
3:9 King Solomon made himself a carriage
- of the wood of Lebanon.
3:10 He made its pillars of silver,
- its bottom of gold, its seat of purple,
- its midst being paved with love,
- from the daughters of Jerusalem.
3:11 Go forth, you daughters of Zion, and see king Solomon,
- with the crown with which his mother has crowned him,
- in the day of his weddings,
- in the day of the gladness of his heart.
- Lover
4:1 Behold, you are beautiful, my love.
- Behold, you are beautiful.
- Your eyes are doves behind your veil.
- Your hair is as a flock of goats,
- that descend from Mount Gilead.
4:2 Your teeth are like a newly shorn flock,
- which have come up from the washing,
- where every one of them has twins.
- None is bereaved among them.
4:3 Your lips are like scarlet thread.
- Your mouth is lovely.
- Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil.
4:4 Your neck is like David’s tower built for an armory,
- whereon a thousand shields hang,
- all the shields of the mighty men.
4:5 Your two breasts are like two fawns
- that are twins of a roe,
- which feed among the lilies.
4:6 Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away,
- I will go to the mountain of myrrh,
- to the hill of frankincense.
4:7 You are all beautiful, my love.
- There is no spot in you.
4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
- with me from Lebanon.
- Look from the top of Amana,
- from the top of Senir and Hermon,
- from the lions’ dens,
- from the mountains of the leopards.
4:9 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride.
- You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes,
- with one chain of your neck.
4:10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
- How much better is your love than wine!
- The fragrance of your perfumes than all kinds of spices!
4:11 Your lips, my bride, drip like the honeycomb.
- Honey and milk are under your tongue.
- The smell of your garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
4:12 A locked up garden is my sister, my bride;
- a locked up spring,
- a sealed fountain.
4:13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits:
- henna with spikenard plants,
4:14 spikenard and saffron,
- calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree;
- myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,
4:15 a fountain of gardens,
- a well of living waters,
- flowing streams from Lebanon.
- Beloved
4:16 Awake, north wind; and come, you south!
- Blow on my garden, that its spices may flow out.
- Let my beloved come into his garden,
- and taste his precious fruits.
- Lover
5:1 I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride.
- I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
- I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
- I have drunk my wine with my milk.
- Friends
- Eat, friends!
- Drink, yes, drink abundantly, beloved.
- Beloved
5:2 I was asleep, but my heart was awake.
- It is the voice of my beloved who knocks:
- “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled;
- for my head is filled with dew,
- and my hair with the dampness of the night.”
5:3 I have taken off my robe. Indeed, must I put it on?
- I have washed my feet. Indeed, must I soil them?
5:4 My beloved thrust his hand in through the latch opening.
- My heart pounded for him.
5:5 I rose up to open for my beloved.
- My hands dripped with myrrh,
- my fingers with liquid myrrh,
- on the handles of the lock.
5:6 I opened to my beloved;
- but my beloved left; and had gone away.
- My heart went out when he spoke.
- I looked for him, but I didn’t find him.
- I called him, but he didn’t answer.
5:7 The watchmen who go about the city found me.
- They beat me.
- They bruised me.
- The keepers of the walls took my cloak away from me.
5:8 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,
- If you find my beloved,
- that you tell him that I am faint with love.
- Friends
5:9 How is your beloved better than another beloved,
- you fairest among women?
- How is your beloved better than another beloved,
- that you do so adjure us?
- Beloved
5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy.
- The best among ten thousand.
5:11 His head is like the purest gold.
- His hair is bushy, black as a raven.
5:12 His eyes are like doves beside the water brooks,
- washed with milk, mounted like jewels.
5:13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices with towers of perfumes.
- His lips are like lilies, dropping liquid myrrh.
5:14 His hands are like rings of gold set with beryl.
- His body is like ivory work overlaid with sapphires.
5:15 His legs are like pillars of marble set on sockets of fine gold.
- His appearance is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
5:16 His mouth is sweetness;
- yes, he is altogether lovely.
- This is my beloved, and this is my friend,
- daughters of Jerusalem.
- Friends
6:1 Where has your beloved gone, you fairest among women?
- Where has your beloved turned, that we may seek him with you?
- Beloved
6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,
- to the beds of spices,
- to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.
- He browses among the lilies,
6:4 You are beautiful, my love, as Tirzah,
- lovely as Jerusalem,
- awesome as an army with banners.
6:5 Turn away your eyes from me,
- for they have overcome me.
- Your hair is like a flock of goats,
- that lie along the side of Gilead.
6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes,
- which have come up from the washing;
- of which every one has twins;
- none is bereaved among them.
6:7 Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil.
6:8 There are sixty queens, eighty concubines,
- and virgins without number.
6:9 My dove, my perfect one, is unique.
- She is her mother’s only daughter.
- She is the favorite one of her who bore her.
- The daughters saw her, and called her blessed;
- the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
6:10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning,
- beautiful as the moon,
- clear as the sun,
- and awesome as an army with banners?
6:11 I went down into the nut tree grove,
- to see the green plants of the valley,
- to see whether the vine budded,
- and the pomegranates were in flower.
6:12 Without realizing it,
- my desire set me with my royal people’s chariots.
- Friends
6:13 Return, return, Shulammite!
- Return, return, that we may gaze at you.
- Lover
- Why do you desire to gaze at the Shulammite,
- as at the dance of Mahanaim?
7:1 How beautiful are your feet in sandals, prince’s daughter!
- Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
- the work of the hands of a skillful workman.
7:2 Your body is like a round goblet,
- no mixed wine is wanting.
- Your waist is like a heap of wheat,
- set about with lilies.
7:3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
- that are twins of a roe.
7:4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.
- Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bathrabbim.
- Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon which looks toward Damascus.
7:5 Your head on you is like Carmel.
- The hair of your head like purple.
- The king is held captive in its tresses.
7:6 How beautiful and how pleasant you are,
- love, for delights!
7:7 This, your stature, is like a palm tree,
- your breasts like its fruit.
7:8 I said, “I will climb up into the palm tree.
- I will take hold of its fruit.”
- Let your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
- the smell of your breath like apples,
- Beloved
7:9 Your mouth like the best wine,
- that goes down smoothly for my beloved,
- gliding through the lips of those who are asleep.
7:10 I am my beloved’s.
- His desire is toward me.
7:11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field.
- Let us lodge in the villages.
7:12 Let’s go early up to the vineyards.
- Let’s see whether the vine has budded,
- its blossom is open,
- and the pomegranates are in flower.
- There I will give you my love.
7:13 The mandrakes give forth fragrance.
- At our doors are all kinds of precious fruits, new and old,
- which I have stored up for you, my beloved.
8:1 Oh that you were like my brother,
- who nursed from the breasts of my mother!
- If I found you outside, I would kiss you;
- yes, and no one would despise me.
8:2 I would lead you, bringing you into my mother’s house,
- who would instruct me.
- I would have you drink spiced wine,
- of the juice of my pomegranate.
8:3 His left hand would be under my head.
- His right hand would embrace me.
8:4 I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,
- that you not stir up, nor awaken love,
- until it so desires.
- Friends
8:5 Who is this who comes up from the wilderness,
- leaning on her beloved?
- Under the apple tree I aroused you.
- There your mother conceived you.
- There she was in labor and bore you.
8:6 Set me as a seal on your heart,
- as a seal on your arm;
- for love is strong as death.
- Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol.
- Its flashes are flashes of fire,
- a very flame of Yahweh.
8:7 Many waters can’t quench love,
- neither can floods drown it.
- If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love,
- he would be utterly scorned.
- Friends
8:8 We have a little sister.
- She has no breasts.
- What shall we do for our sister
- in the day when she is to be spoken for?
8:9 If she is a wall,
- we will build on her a turret of silver.
- if she is a door,
- we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
- Beloved
8:10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers,
- then I was in his eyes like one who found peace.
8:11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon.
- He leased out the vineyard to keepers.
- Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
8:12 My own vineyard is before me.
- The thousand are for you, Solomon;
- two hundred for those who tend its fruit.
- Lover
8:13 You who dwell in the gardens, with friends in attendance,
- let me hear your voice!
- Beloved
8:14 Come away, my beloved!
- Be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices!
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